You Can't Play With Broken Toys
by kingapplebutter
Summary: Prompt fill for Kink Meme. AU, everyone is on the Troll's Meteor with no immediate threat. John was raped/sexually abused before the Sburb started, and one of the Trolls brings this to everyone's attention, not understanding what it was. Story revolves around the fallout of this revelation with his friends and some Dave x John fluff. Sadstuck, M mostly for language. Pretty short.
1. Chapter One

….

tentacleTherapist [TT] responded to memo.

TT: John, what is he talking about?

CG: OH YOU DIDN'T KNOW?

CG: I GUESS I'M NOT THE ONLY FUCKING ONE.

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG] 2 WEEKS FROM NOW responded to memo.

FCG: FUCK. STOP. STOP RIGHT THERE.

CG banned FCG from responding to memo.

CG: HMM? SEEMS FUTURE ME DOESNT WANT ME TO MENTION IT.

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG2] 2 WEEKS 5 MINUTES FROM NOW responded to memo.

FCG2: NO FUCK YOU, YOU STUPID NOOKSUCKER.

CG banned FCG2 from responding to memo.

CG: SHUT UP.

CG: ANYWAY.

CG: YOU NEVER ANSWERED MY QUESTION JOHN.

CG: WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS ADULT HUMAN?

EB: i don't know what you're talking about.

CG: DONT BE STUPID. I CAN SEE YOU DOING IT. REMEMBER?

CG: ALL THAT FUCKING NONLINEAR CONVERSATIONAL TIME SHIT THAT HAPPENED, OH, I DON'T KNOW, ALL YOUR FUCKING LIFE?

CG: …

CG: WHY? WHAT IS IT?

CG: SOME DISGUSTING HUMAN HABIT IM SURE?

TT: Karkat, whatever it is you happen to be raving about, I have a feeling you ought to move this conversation somewhere a bit more private.

TT: Or better yet, it seems to me that it might be in your best interest to just drop the subject.

CG: HA! I FUCKING KNEW IT.

CG: IT'S SOMETHING GROSS. MAKES FUCKING SENSE, I KNEW HUMANS WERE WEIRD.

CG: WHAT IS IT? I'M FUCKING DYING OVER HERE. I HAVEN'T SEEN ROSE DO IT. OR DAVE. FUCK YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE.

EB: like you said, just some gross human thing.

EB: your stupid alien mind wouldn't understand.

EB: just drop it.

TT: John, I think it's best that I contact you privately.

TT ceased responding to memo.

CG: YOURE KILLING ME OVER HERE.

CG: ADS;FJGAFL

CG: JKSBdsgfiur84

CG: Y7UBK KHY

turntechGodhead [TG] responded to memo.

TG: jegus nubby cant you go one fucking moment

TG: without having a fucking temper tantrum?

gallowsCalibrator [GC] responded to memo.

GC: THAT WASNT ME GOD DAMMIT.

CG: H3H3H3 1 COULD SM3LL YOU FROM ACROSS TH3 ROOM KARKAT

CG: YOUR CUR1OS1TY SM3LLS L1K3 C4T BR34TH :]

GC: GOD DAMMIT GIVE ME BACK MY COMPUTER.

CG: H3H3H3

CG: JOHN T3LL US MOR3!

EB: THERE'S NOTHING TO FUCKING TELL!

EB ceased responding to memo.

GC: H1S WORDS T4ST3 L1K3 D3C31T 4ND 4NG3R :]

GC: TH3Y 4R3 SP1CY :O

TG: gee thanks terezi

TG: what am i chopped liver?

GC: D4V3 YOUR WORDS W1LL 4LW4YS T4ST3 B3ST TO M3

CG banned GC from responding to memo.

CG banned TG from responding to memo.

CG: GOD DAMMIT.

FUTURE carcinoGeneticist [FCG3] 2 WEEKS 1 HOUR FROM NOW responded to memo.

FCG3: YOU SHIT HEAD.

FCG3 banned himself from responding to memo.

CG: WHAT?

The young Heir of Breath stares passively past the screen of his cosbytop, the dim blue glow it emanated washes over his face, casting eerie shadows upon his vaguely melancholic countenance. He sits there for a moment longer, just staring into the darkness, lost in thought, until after the sharp ping of pesterchum's notification system alerted him to the presence of Rose's pestering.

God damn he always forgets to turn that sound off, it scares the shit out of him almost every time.

After a moment of hesitation, John submits, knowing full well that Rose has already dug her heels into the issue, and will not be deterred. He opens the chat log, and finds himself confronted with a single, pink, question.

— tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB]—

TT: John, perhaps you could illuminate me as to what Karkat was going on about just now?

EB: i don't know what he was talking about.

TT: John, you know that I can tell when you're lying to me, so why even bother?

TT: This is something serious, isn't?

EB: it's nothing

EB: just leave me alone

EB: i don't need you to fucking psychoanalyze me or whatever

TT: I can honestly say that I wasn't planning on it.

TT: Really, John, I've known you for quite some time, I can make an educated guess, especially with what Karkat has brought into the open.

TT: But I won't push you to say anything don't want to say. Nothing matters if it doesn't come out of your mouth.

EB: …

— ectoBiologist [EB] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 10:34 PM —

John quickly shut his cosbytop, resigning himself to the darkness of his bedroom. He just sits there for what feels like hours— not thinking or moving, but rather, just sitting, staring into space — until he finally climbs into bed, his body a thousand times heavier than ever before. As he pulls the covers over his head, he can't help but to stifle a sob.


	2. Chapter Two

— turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

TG: rose

TG: rose you there?

— turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 12:46 AM —

— turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] —

TG: rose

TG: …

— turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 3:04 AM —

— tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG]—

TT: Dave? Have you been up all night?

TG: of fucking course

TT: Well, I'm awake now, what is it that's been plaguing you so?

TG: what was nubby talking about last night?

TT: I think you already know the answer to that, Dave.

TG: fuck

TG: so its true?

TT: I'm assuming Terezi told you?

TG: yeah

TG: she only told me what she heard from karkat

TG: which is to say

TG: a whole fucking lot

TG: i dont think they knew what was going on though

TG: they thought it was fucking hilarious

TG: course tz has that fucking sense of smell

TG: and I must have reeked

TG: because she didn't think it was funny anymore

TG: …

TG: so i figure you already knew?

TT: I am the Seer of Light; nothing escapes my knowledge.

TG: shut the fuck up

TG: this is fucking serious

TT: I know, Dave, and in all seriousness, I've had my suspicions for quite some time.

TT: Psychoanalysis can be quite handy, you know.

TG: so if you've know all this time

TG: why didn't you tell him that you knew?

TG: or me for that matter?

TT: Like I said, they were only suspicions. I didn't know for sure until Karkat verified it with his idiocy.

TT: As for why I didn't tell you, because I knew you would do exactly what you're planning on doing now.

TG: and what would that be?

TT: Tell him.

TG: yeah well what the hell am i supposed to do dammit?!

TT: You _wait_. If we confront him about this, he'll only push us away even more.

TG: …

TG: gog dammit fine we'll do it your way

— turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 6:18 AM —**  
**  
Somewhere on a meteor hurtling through the outskirts of a dying universe, there is a shaded pair of eyes belonging to the coolest kid you'll ever meet, much to his chagrin, shedding a single tear or two that no one will ever see.


	3. Chapter Three

"We need to talk," an unnervingly familiar voice spoke out from behind Dave, who was eating a late breakfast alone in the makeshift laboratory dining room, still quietly fuming over the rather unsupportive conversation with Rose from earlier that morning.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Orange Creamsicles," Dave smirked, not even bothering to turn around, coolly concealing both his grogginess and his surprise—however minute it may be— at the sudden reappearance of his future self.

Davesprite poorly suppressed a scowl as he floated around the seemingly indifferent Knight of Time until they were face to face, both wearing poker faces of equal magnitude; he wasn't here to play games. "We need to talk about John," he reiterated, his expression grim, and the serious look in his eyes apparent even from behind his orange sunglasses.

Dave was quick to change the subject, going to such lengths as to nearly break the chilly façade he works so hard to maintain. "I thought you left," he calmly reached for another bite of pancakes, of which he made himself after a ridiculous amount of time spent trying to find the proper ingredients, eventually having to alchemize them himself, "after breaking up with Jade, or whatever?" He looked up from his plate, hoping to get a response from the orange sprite to further deter him from pursuing any talk of John. After soliciting no more than an irritated grunt, he continued, "Shit move, bro, she's pretty cute. Maybe I'll take her on the rebound, huh?" He managed another half-hearted smirk, but quickly realized from the impatient expression on Davesprite's no longer stoic face that his stalling wasn't getting him very far.

"Dave," the sprite cut into his alpha self's uncharacteristic ramblings, quickly losing what little patience he had left for the boy, "we _need_ to fucking talk." The two stared each other down, both pairs of eyes hidden behind their respective glasses, their imposing glares only discernible by those accustomed to the secrecy offered by a darkened pair of shades. Dave slowly chewed a mouthful of pancakes as passive aggressively as he could ironically manage, which he proceeded to wash down with a glass of apple juice.

"There's nothing to talk about," was his reply.

"God damn it," Davesprite growled, grabbing him by the front of his shirt, pulling up out of his seat, and slamming a clawed fist onto the table, nearly toppling the unfinished glass of juice as the table shuddered violently. "Don't be such a fucking inconsiderate douchebag!' Davesprite leaned forward, eyes locked intensely onto Dave's, his breast feathers puffing up with every angry breath he took. The two would later agree that his reaction was equitable to doing a motherfucking pirouette off of the handle, and was very uncool.

After a moment of menacing silence between the two, Dave pulled himself free of the sprite's relaxing grip, having only been caught off guard in his sleep deprived state in the first place. "What do you even know?" He huffed, quietly, breaking eye contact under the pretense of straightening his shirt.

"I sure as hell know a lot more than you do, that's for sure," His arms were crossed, but his tone had softened greatly as he quickly calmed down. When Dave didn't respond, he sighed, and continued. "I didn't find out about John in my timeline." If Dave didn't know better, he would've said that his voice sounded nearly melancholic. "It wasn't until I became a sprite did I begin to understand I guess that amongst the massive amounts of knowledge granted to the sprites included certain key information about each player in the session; their memories, their secrets. The sprites know everything about the game, and in order to aid the players, they must also know everything about them.

This was how I learned about John. We didn't have a fucking feelings jam, he didn't tell me himself, and Rose never shared any of her thoughts on the matter. No, I had to find out the hard way. I spent a year trying to save my best bro from being sent to his death, and when we succeeded, I thought things were going to be okay. Then I unknowingly submit to having memories of John's fucking _rape_ beamed into my brain." Dave swallowed involuntary, looking back at the sprite, whose arms had fallen to his side. He could've sworn that he heard his voice break. "What was I supposed to do, though? Talk to him about it? Should I have just walked up to him and been like, 'Oh, hey, I'm sorry about your _fucking_ situation, here's a _fucking _hug!'? Besides, even if I knew how to go about it, it doesn't matter. Whenever he looks at me, he sees future Dave or Dave sprite, and not his best friend Dave who negated an entire fucking timeline to keep from losing him." Davesprite's voice neared a whisper at this point. "I couldn't comfort him, I couldn't help him, and hell, I can barely even look him in the eye anymore. No, he's your John now, Dave, and you need to man up and be there for him."

Another moment of silence passed, and Davesprite knew it was time to go. "Well, that was my piece, and I've really got nothing more to say on the matter. Just do yourself a favor, and remember what I told you today," Davesprite turned to leave, and Dave, despite the plethora of questions running through his mind, stopped him only for one.

"Why _did_ you break up with Jade?" Dave wasn't entirely sure why this was the first question he asked, but he stuck with it.

Davesprite paused at the doorway, and without turning around, he replied, "If you don't know the answer to that question yet, then I'm dumber than I thought I was." If there's one thing his bro taught him, Striders always know how to make an exit.

Of course, the moment was all but ruined for him when, on the other side of the door, the young Witch of Space stood, surprised to run into her ex-boyfriend while on her way to tell Dave her exciting news.


	4. Chapter Four

Needless to say, Jade was shocked. After all, she hadn't seen the orange boy since they broke up what felt like decades ago. Of course, they still ran into each other every so often, but that was a big battleship, and what with five planets to wander around with their respective consorts to keep him company, he managed to keep his distance from the other two humans. She understood, though; things were beginning to get a bit tense around them, especially between him and John. Not even Davesprite, as cool as he is, could stand the awkwardness.

"Oh," he was the first to say anything at all as the kitchen door shut behind him with a soft click, sealing the entrance and effectively blocking Dave out of their conversation. Just as well, he had yet to notice Jade's arrival, and was finishing his interrupted breakfast, hopefully mulling over what Davesprite had told him. "Hey, uh, Jade…" he was no less taken aback by their shared encounter than she was, but even now he still tried to hide it – he did not succeed. His feathers ruffled up around his breast, a habit that grew on him upon becoming a sprite, and happened whenever he was flustered or confused. In any other situation, Jade would have giggled.

She grinned nevertheless, unwilling to let their first confrontation in so long dissolve into weirdness, "Davesprite! I haven't talked to you in such a long time," she knew enough to steer clear of anything more personal, knowing that he probably wouldn't tell anyone what he's been up to. Not that it mattered, because Jade will always find him an open book.

"Yeah," Davesprite's face fell ever so slightly, an expression that was only noticed by the as-good-as-omniscient young witch. Jade didn't say anything, lest she make things worse. So, they stood there in silence for what could have been a good five minutes. Awkward situations always feel like that though, so it was more likely much less.

"Well," Jade finally broke the silence. "I came to talk to Dave," she gestured towards the door, which was still currently blocked by his body. "He's in there, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Davesprite glanced behind him at the closed door, and for a moment wondered if Dave _was_ even still in there. This certainly wasn't the only door leading out of the room. He looked back at Jade, her ears twitching curiously, and sighed. "What exactly is it that you need to talk to him about?"

"It's about John," she hesitated a moment, but quickly came back to her senses, realizing that anything she could tell Dave, she could certainly tell Davesprite. "I talked to Rose, and she agreed to help me, even though she said it was a bad idea…" Jade's eyes turned to the floor, slightly too embarrassed of being judged under the sprite's cold, emotionless glare. "We want to try and get John to talk to us, and I wanted to see if Dave would come with us."

Another moment of stillness passed between the two. Jade peered back up at the boy, to see him still standing there, arms crossed, biting his lip. She'd never seen him this thoughtful before, and it was slightly unsettling, although a bit endearing. "No," was his sudden reply, with such resounding authority that she jumped a little bit, startled.

"No?" She echoed, with a puzzled and (almost) hurt look on her face.

"I mean," his voice was softer, but the commanding tone was still there. "Don't tell him that you're going to go see John." During the conversation, Davesprite's glasses had slowly drifted down the bridge of his nose, and he was now peering over them. Jade could see his eyes, just as orange as the rest of him, but within them a watery look that betrayed the tone of his voice with something much sadder; a look that made her shiver. Davesprite quickly pushed the shades backup, and cleared his throat. "It's just that…" For the umpteenth time today, he was at a loss for words. Today has been a very uncool day. "I don't think that John is ready to talk to anyone just yet," He cast a hidden look back towards the kitchen, "especially not Dave."

Jade wasn't quite she understood, but she knew better than to question Davesprite when he's this serious. Considering she's never even seen him this serious. She just nodded, quietly. He caught her off guard when he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Despite her lagging mental reflexes, she managed to return the hug, patting the soft feathers on his chest absent mindedly, like she used to. But as much as she wanted to stay there, she pulled away with a sad smile, and grabbing the boy's calloused, hands, giving them a tight squeeze.

"Y'know, I do still love you," he whispered, softly.

"I know you do," she leaned up on her toes and kissed his nose before letting go of him and turning down the hallway, off to go talk to John, wherever he may be. As she turned the corner, she felt that she understood the situation a little bit more. When she had disappeared


End file.
